Day 3 - Mae Fah Luang garden
Mae Fah Luang means "Royal Mother from the Sky" in Thai language, and refers to the current Thai King's mother, also known as the Princess Mother. She passed away in 1995. According to Noi, she was nicknamed as such because she always visited the remote areas by a helicopter.
The garden is located at the north of Chiang Rai city, on top of mount Doi Tung. It was part of a development project initiated by the Princess Mother to help local minority tribes to survive on a more sustainable livelihood (vegetable, fruit and flower farming) rather than planting opium, and sometimes having to sell their daughters to sex trade. At this destination, you can also visit the Royal Villa, which is the winter home of the Princess Mother, and the Hall of Inspiration which exhibits the history of the royal family and the Princess Mother's development project in the area. Click here for more info about the destination.
We arrived at the garden in the afternoon - not exactly the best time to visit as the place closes at 5pm (sharp), and we kind of had to rush through the visit. The preferred time is to arrive in the morning, when the weather is cooler, the sunlight milder, and you could probably take better pictures of the garden too. You can choose to visit the sites separately or together. Off course, the combo ticket that included the garden, the Royal Villa and the Hall of Inspiration was cheaper overall, and these sites are actually quite worth seeing.
I think the garden was quite impressive for Asian's standards. Apparently, they change the flowers every season. I was quite amazed by some of the wild orchids available at the garden, which I never seen before. If only we had more time to explore, I could probably enjoy the place more. Unfortunately, my time there felt like a whirlwind, and I was so kiasu snapping pictures here and there.
Main entrance to the Royal Villa
One of the wild orchid species
The "Tungs" on Doi Tung
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